Swire To Begin Massive Brickell Citicentre By June

By Yudislaidy Fernandez
Swire Properties’ Brickell CitiCentre, the area’s largest planned development, is due to break ground by the second quarter of next year as the company now has its design team in place.

Site work has begun on the parcel bordering Southwest Seventh and Eighth streets to the north and south, South Miami Avenue to the east and Southwest First Avenue to the west.

The 4.6 million-square-foot project is to encompass 500,000-plus square feet of retail and entertainment space, a 290-room EAST hotel and 77 rental apartments, 455-unit condo towers and about 906,000 square feet of office space once completed.

Joining architecture firm Arquitectonica in designing CitiCentre are structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates from Seattle. The mechanical, electrical and plumbing was awarded to Cosentini Associates of New York and TLC of Miami.

The landscape design is led by Arquitectonica GEO, the climate ribbon design is in the hands of Hugh Dutton Associates based in Paris, the civil engineers are Kimley-Horn and Associates from Miami and the LEED engineers are also Cosentini Associates.

"With our Brickell CitiCentre development on the horizon, we are pleased to have assembled a team of local, national and even international consultants to assure Brickell CitiCentre’s design continues to take shape as a game-changer for Miami," said Swire President Stephen Owens in a statement.

Most recently, the deep-pocketed Hong Kong-based company agreed to sell its Festival Walk shopping center in Hong Kong for $2.4 billion, making it its biggest property deal.

Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Arquitectonica’s founding principal, said in a statement: "We hope to progress the design sufficiently to enable Swire to commence construction by first or second quarter 2012."

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